Spotlight Solar Trees Stand

This is a great way to promote renewables.  Kudos to Orlando.  Disney, of course, has a very ambitious, and successful, commitment to sustainability.  

Spotlight Solar Trees Stand Tall at Orlando Convention Center

Project puts solar energy in the public eye, showcases high-level commitment to clean energy and sustainability

Orlando’s Orange Country Convention Center (OCCC), America’s second largest conference and exhibition venue, is the latest location featuring Spotlight Solar’s distinctive solar trees. Two pairs of Spotlight’s Lift solar structures will uniquely showcase the commitment to clean energy and sustainability shared by the convention center, the city of Orlando, and the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). Participants in the DistribuTECH conference and exhibition taking place this week will be the first to see the new systems.

Spotlight Solar’s portfolio of solar structures are carefully engineered, solar-powered systems designed to echo other, less-visible clean energy investments, to catalyze conversation and awareness around solar energy and sustainability.  

In the case of the Orlando project, the quartet of 22-foot-tall Spotlight trees will bring attention to the 1-megawatt solar power plant operating on the roof of the convention center installed in 2009, as well as add several kilowatts of additional power to the complex’s solar generation capacity. The clean energy generated by the four Lift structures will offset 12 tons of carbon emissions annually and will produce enough sun juice to fully charge the equivalent of more than 1.75 million smartphones over the course of a year.

“More than 1.3 million people visit the Orlando Convention Center each year, and when they arrive, the Spotlight Solar structures will provide a strikingly visual symbol of our city’s environmental stewardship,” said Linda Ferrone, president of OUC, which invested in the Spotlight installation. “OUC is deploying these architectural solar energy structures in high visibility places around the city, as part of an effort to bring solar energy into public view and complement other renewable energy projects people can’t see.”

“Studies have shown that visibility is one of the most important factors accelerating the adoption of solar energy, and Spotlight installations like the one at the Orlando Convention Center get people thinking and talking about solar,” said Craig Merrigan, CEO and co-founder of Spotlight Solar. “Our partners at OUC understand this, and are working with us to educate people that renewables are an important part of our energy future.”

Spotlight Solar’s installation at the Orlando Convention Center is the latest project showing the diverse potential for the deployment of publicly visible solar trees. In 2015, the company installed 40 solar structures across the United States, including a system at Austin City Limits Music Festival showcasing clean energy to 450,000 event attendees over two consecutive weekends. Spotlight has several projects in its 2016 pipeline, including installations slated for educational, public transportation, sports, and utility facilities.

To locate the pair of Spotlight Solar installations at the Orlando Convention Center campus, click here for a map link.

About Spotlight Solar
Spotlight Solar makes customers’ properties distinctive with great looking solar energy structures. These novel structures complement other environmental measures and authentically remind people of those investments. By making solar more visible and attractive, Spotlight Solar hopes to accelerate the adoption of solar energy. Spotlight is a certified B Corporation, which means the company is out to do something good. For more information, visit www.spotlightsolar.com.